Associate Principal Scientist - Cell Culture Development

Lonza Group Ltd.; Oberwallis; On-site; CHF 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lonza Group Ltd. in Visp, Switzerland, invites an Associate Principal Scientist to lead mammalian upstream development and hands‑on laboratory work.

You will drive CHO culture activities, model scale‑up/scale‑down, and generate data to enable tech transfer to Pilot and GMP facilities. You will act as SME for CHO culture, guide cross‑functional teams, and build strong customer relationships through clear scientific communication.

Qualifications

• BSc with 7+ years or MSc with 5+ years of relevant mammalian upstream development experience.
• Hands-on CHO culture with AMBR250/AMBR15, shake flasks, and bioreactors.
• Strong scale‑up/scale‑down expertise and tech transfer experience.
• Ability to plan and execute lab-scale experiments in cross‑functional settings.
• Excellent communication in technical English; weekend/holiday work as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead, design, and execute complex upstream process development activities, including small‑scale studies (up to 10L), ensuring quality and safety standards and documenting data for tech transfer to Pilot and GMP facilities.
• Act as subject matter expert (SME) for CHO cell culture, providing scientific guidance and troubleshooting for internal and external teams.
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships through transparent communication and scientific excellence.
• Design, optimize, and implement robust scale‑down and scale‑up models.
• Author and review high‑quality documentation, including study plans and development reports.
• Support training activities and promote knowledge sharing across teams.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, workflow optimization, and best‑practice implementation.

Skills

CHO cell culture

Plan & execute experiments

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical English

Tools

AMBR250/AMBR15

Shake flasks

Stirred-tank bioreactors

Depth filtration

Job description

Today, Lonza is a global leader in life sciences operating across three continents. While we work in science, there’s no magic formula to how we do it. Our greatest scientific solution is talented people working together, devising ideas that help businesses to help people. In exchange, we let our people own their careers. Their ideas, big and small, genuinely improve the world. And that’s the kind of work we want to be part of. We are looking for an Associate Principal Scientist (m/f/d) to join our Mammalian Cell Culture Development team in Visp. This role combines scientific leadership with hands‑on laboratory work, driving upstream development activities and collaborating with cross‑functional teams and customers to deliver high‑quality bioprocessing solutions.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, design, and execute complex upstream process development activities, including small‑scale studies (up to 10L), ensuring compliance with quality and safety standards and generating the data and documentation required to support tech transfer to Pilot and GMP facilities.
• Act as subject matter expert (SME) for CHO cell culture, providing scientific guidance, troubleshooting support, and decision‑making for internal and external teams.
• Build and maintain strong customer relationships through transparent communication and scientific excellence.
• Design, optimize, and implement robust scale‑down and scale‑up models.
• Author and review high‑quality documentation, including study plans and development reports.
• Support training activities and promote knowledge‑sharing across teams.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, workflow optimization, and best‑practice implementation.

Key requirements

• BSc with 7+ years or MSc with 5+ years of relevant industry experience in mammalian upstream process development.
• Hands‑on expertise with CHO cell culture, including AMBR250/AMBR15, shake flasks, stirred‑tank bioreactors, and depth filtration.
• Strong understanding of scale‑up/scale‑down principles, bioprocess troubleshooting, and tech transfer.
• Proven ability to plan, coordinate, and execute laboratory‑scale experiments in a dynamic, cross‑functional environment.
• Excellent communication skills; technical English required.
• Willingness to support operations during weekends or public holidays several times per year.
• Strong team orientation, organizational skills, and problem‑solving mindset.

Every day, Lonza’s products and services have a positive impact on millions of people. For us, this is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. How we achieve our business results is just as important as the achievements themselves. At Lonza, we respect and protect our people and our environment. Any success we achieve is no success at all if not achieved ethically. People come to Lonza for the challenge and creativity of solving complex problems and developing new ideas in life sciences. In return, we offer the satisfaction that comes with improving lives all around the world. The satisfaction that comes with making a meaningful difference. Every day, our teams across the world work together to turn scientific breakthroughs into life‑changing medicines that reach up to 100 million patients a year. Lonza is a place where people can make a unique impact, grow their careers and belong.

You will feel at home at Lonza if you:

• Take ownership, step forward, and enjoy meaningful responsibility
• Love solving problems and thrive in a complex, fast‑moving environment
• Are curious, always looking to learn and improve
• Work collaboratively, contributing to something bigger than yourself
• Are motivated to make a difference through work that impacts customers and their patients

Why Lonza:

We are a place of unique opportunity, where your ideas, expertise and ambition can make a real difference. Here, you will have the freedom to grow, the support to succeed and the chance to contribute to work that matters. We are the makers of the medicines of tomorrow. Join us. Be you.